The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-02-17
sooNs or THE rRoplca.
4 Banana orchard-Gatherins Wild
fr- Peas-Abundant Leisure. -s.#Ee

- D8h8na WIN
fr- Peas-Abundant Leisure. .-a..ss.
Humboldt estimates that an area Of
land producing wheat enough for one
man will yield bananas enough for
twenty-five, and, moreover, the twenty
five rations of tree food can be raised
with ten times less trouble than the unit
of cereals. In other words. one hour OK
work in the latitude of Acapules will
produce as much as $50 hours Of work
In the latitude of Minneapolis. A b.
nana orchard once stocked, a boy of -
can attend to the rest, the yearly ex-
cision of the stem and the harvesting Of
the fruit; and many collateral comesti-
bles can be had for the mere trouble Of
gathering them in the forest.
On all sunny slopes of the foothills
the underbTJsh is matted with the vines
of aspecies of wild pea, Towering in March
and ripening its pods before the end of
May. With rake and an instrument
shaped like a wide wooden comb a
couple of handy girls can gather years
supply of those peas in a single week.
And their work seems pastime rather
than a task; they pick peas as bevy of
picnickers would pick huckleberries, TAX
ing their time, and ready to interrupt
their fun for any better fun going. Tie
poorest squatter of the Goscad as can
bask in sunshine unclouded by the shad-
ows of coming evils. Why should he
worry? Are his provisions running
shortr The forrest will furn ish fresh
supply. Has his large family been in
creased by pair of additional twins
The more the merrier. Is our cabin get
ting crowded? Let's enlarge>it to-mor-
row or build new one for Juan, if he
consents to board the pickaninnies till
he has youngsters of his own.
+ The casuchas, or hutches, Of the poorer
classes can be put up in a day with the
help of kind neighbor. and under cover
# thick patchwork of palm leaves are
tolerably rainproof, though not storm
proof; but even the solid cabanas of the
we'll to-do squatter have cost him little
but the sum invested in the purchase O.
an ak. The entire structure, roof, doors,
floor, chimney, and walls, is combina-
ton Of rough-hewn posts and square or
dovetailed shingles, about the size of q
weather board" ("clapboard," as they
call it in West Virginia., fastened with
pegs. There are native carpenters, who
seem to pride themselves on their skill
in dispensing with iron nails. Weaving,
too, is done in primitive fashion, on a
sort of carpet loom. The Mertizos Of the
Terra caliente tan leather with great
skill, knit their own fishing nets, plat
their own straw hats, and there are fam
lilies who indulge themselves in all their
conceptions of luxury without spending
cent Of money from New Year to
Christmas. A minimum of what a New
Highlander would call work suffices to
provide variety of artificial comforts,
the beauty of nature supplying all nat
ural wants. .-" "a. ....ra
Life thus ceases to be-a socage duty.
The problem of existence becomes man
ageable by easy-going methods, leaving
abundant leisure to be abused by sloth,
or utilized by provident love Of indie
pendence. In the mountains OF southern
Mexico there is, indeed, no lack of men,
Caucusians and Motizos, who carry their
heads as high as any descendants of the
British non-confermists who sought q
freehold in the wilds of tho Alleghenies
During his wanderings in Spanish-Amer-
lea, Garibaldi fell in with Mexican
officer who SO fully shared his social
views that the two friends resolved to
retire from world Of fun kies and pass
the rest of their lives on lonely noun.
tain farm, not far from Cordova, in the
state of Vera Cruz. Under the impulse
of a strong appeal to his ruling passion,
Garibaldi finally returned to his native
land, but his friend stuck to his post,
declining Office, and content to educate
his sons in the spirit Of principle
which Denis Dideror condensed in the
aphorism: "Que cette Wis est trop courte
pour ramper tous les coiona meprisa-
bles." Self-independence is not an ex-
elusive product of the higher attitudes.
DIR FELIX T, OswaIds